Revamped Rivermen are fast, fun to watch

Friday

Oct 26, 2007 at 12:01 AMOct 26, 2007 at 4:20 AM

Kirk Wessler column for Friday, Oct. 26, on AHL Peoria

Kirk Wessler

Six games into the new hockey season, this much is obvious.
The Rivermen are quicker, deeper, more skilled and just all around better — way better — than they were last season.
“It was hard all the time last year,” veteran winger Charles Linglet says.
Hard to pass effectively, hard to score, hard to put pressure on opponents, hard to win.
Hard to watch without No-Doz, too.
But that’s past. This is present: The Rivermen are back in action tonight at Carver Arena, opening a two-game homestand against Iowa and Grand Rapids. And this is future: Playoffs, which the Rivermen have missed two of the last three years. Maybe even a deep run.
I know. There’s a long winter between now and April. But, as you might have heard, the Rivermen’s NHL parents, the St. Louis Blues, have spent some money to upgrade the talent level through their entire system. So far, it looks like they’ve made good moves.
The Blues themselves had a 5-3-0 record after a 3-0 loss to Columbus on Thursday, as their reconstruction effort continues. Loaded with the Blues’ prime prospects and a flotilla of savvy veterans with NHL role-playing talent, the Rivermen are 4-2-0.
The only mystery so far is why the Rivermen have scored only 17 goals, an average of less than three per game. Because they’ve pounded 184 shots, creating numerous opportunities at point-blank range.
“The puck’s gonna go in,” Linglet says.
He says it with a confident smile, which has replaced the hopeful, eventually doubtful lookaway gaze that came to define last season.
“We frustrated guys like Linglet and (winger Mike) Glumac last year, not getting them the puck with time to make a play,” Rivermen general manager Kevin McDonald says. “Last year, they felt pressure every game. If the other team scored two goals, our guys would start squeezing the stick. This group is a different group, with a different chemistry. They know if their line creates a chance, the next line might score.”
The biggest change appears to be in the defense. You won’t find a circle-the-wagons bunker mentality here. It’s aggressive, fast, go-get-the-puck-before-they-can-shoot. And counterattack.
If you want to see how different these Rivermen are from last season, watch Micki DuPont. He’s a defenseman with three brief NHL tours on his resume. He signed for the Rivermen as a free agent after an AHL All-Star season at Wilkes-Barre.
DuPont is a worker bee with skill. He can pick off the puck in his own corner, skate it, find an open forward, put the puck on that guy’s stick with room to maneuver and then get into position to support the attack and score himself.
You see these Rivermen forwards on the breakaway, or racing up the ice with a 3-on-2 advantage, or weaving toward the goal, passing, deftly leaving the puck for a teammate cutting across the ice from behind to take the shot. And you marvel at how pretty that good, offensive hockey can be. But you also don’t forget how they got there.
“It all goes back to defense, playing less in your own zone and having the puck when and where you’re supposed to,” McDonald says.
And when guys play hockey the way they’re supposed to, as these Rivermen have been doing, it’s fun to watch.
Veteran winger Jean-Guy Trudel smiles when he hears that, and he adds this: “It’s fun to play that way, too.”
KIRK WESSLER is executive sports editor/columnist with the Journal Star. Contact him at kwessler@pjstar.com, or (309) 686-3216.